For Budding Astronomers, Think Binoculars

By Trevor O'Donoghue

With Halloween in the rear view mirror and the days getting shorter, our thoughts naturally turn to Christmas. For some of us, Christmas was when we received our first telescope. I remember mine; a red Tasco telescope on a traditional wooden tripod with a very sophisticated set of knobs, dials and setting circles. Intimidating for anyone, let alone a young boy. In spite of that, I couldn’t wait to turn it towards the Moon and the planets and discover the wonders of the Universe.

However, once I had looked at the Moon and Jupiter, the rest remained somewhat of a mystery. I knew there were great wonders up there and surely my shiny new telescope would be up to the task. After all, the box had amazing pictures and it promised fantastic magnification. What could possibly go wrong? Turns out, plenty. For starters my knowledge of the sky was rudimentary at best, so once I’d ticked off the brightest objects, I kind of hit a wall. Secondly, this was a basic entry level telescope and the aforementioned magnification, whilst theoretically possible, was in reality just a pipe dream. Thirdly, what were all the dials about? Could I not just point it up and get on with it, instead of all this talk of declination and right ascension? Finally, It was nowhere near big enough to deliver the views I had expected. It wasn’t a bad telescope, it just wasn’t suitable for me. At that time.

You might wonder how I managed to keep an interest in astronomy in spite of all that after all these years. The answer came in the shape of my father’s binoculars. Now, whilst not as big nor as shiny as my new telescope, they fit the bill when it came to discovering the night sky. As my knowledge grew and I read about what I could see, they opened up the Universe to me. I observed many clusters and nebulae, the odd comet, and even a handful of galaxies. To this day, I always keep a set of binoculars to hand. You can grab them and head out the door and be observing in two minutes. In the right hands, and with some basic knowledge, they can keep you entertained for hours.

Sure, the latest telescopes can take you on a guided tour of the universe and show you the best sights at the touch of a button, but it will cost you. And without a knowledge of the sky - and realistic expectations - chances are the shiny new telescope will end up gathering dust.

This Christmas, for any budding astronomers in your life, why not think about binoculars and a good guide book instead of a telescope? The skills and knowledge learnt will last a lifetime.

‘Collins Gem Guide Stars’ has stood the test of time and is as useful today as when I was a child

10x50 binoculars are the most common ones used for astronomy.